“Colors ignite your senses, so prepare for sensory overload. The photographs in this book explode off the page; the saturated images will make you feel like you’re there,” writes Jonathan Adler, “happy-chic” designer, potter and author, in the book’s foreword. “Keep it on your coffee table and feel alive. Surrender to these photographs and go on a whirlwind tour of the world.”

Through chapters divided by hue, LIFE IN COLOR navigates the globe to reveal fascinating and astonishing images — a cave explorer suspended in a shaft of golden light; the purple reflection of a medieval Slovenian castle in morning mist; enchanting Japanese maples coated in thick green moss. Color is also used in surprising and unexpected ways — the iridescent blue irises of a young cougar cub in Canada; a man’s torso coated in thick silver paint for Carnival; and a stallion in a cherry-red harness standing before the Great Pyramids of Giza.

The chapters open with short essays on the meaning, feeling and symbolism of each color, such as the “friendliness” of orange and the “loudness” of red. Inspirational quotes about colors fill the pages, offering readers the timeless insights of great minds. The quotes are paired perfectly with complementary images.

The back of the book shows thumbnails of every photograph, which are available for purchase as frameable prints. Readers can use their favorite photograph as colorful inspiration to decorate their home or office.

“Here is your chance to revel in color, to pause and cherish each nuance, each variation in the spectrum that brightens our world,” writes National Geographic Books author and editor Susan Tyler Hitchcock in the book’s introduction.

LIFE IN COLOR will inspire one’s inner designer and revitalize one’s sense of perception and sight. It encourages readers to open their eyes to take in the glory and unmistakable power of color in the world around us.

About Jonathan Adler

Noted interior designer, potter and entrepreneur JONATHAN ADLER is the owner of 20 home furnishing boutiques across the United States and in London that bear his name. He is the author of four books on design.